The present invention relates to a method for roasting coffee in a small, store-sized roaster, in which the unroasted coffee is placed in a roaster and hot air is supplied via a regulated burner until roasting is complete, and then when roasting is shut off the coffee is pre-cooled with water and then removed to a cooling screen, where it is completely cooled with air. The invention also relates to an apparatus suitable for performing the method.
Methods and apparatus of this kind for intermittent, large-scale coffee roasting are known. However, they require skilled operators who take care to feed in the unroasted coffee and remove the roasted coffee at the proper time, and who decide both when the roasting procedure is complete and what type of cooling to use, for how long, by reason of their considerable experience. Recognizing when roasting is complete is done by a roasting supervisor, who uses empirical values at the end of a timed control period and perhaps also compares the color of the roasted coffee beans.